GEORGE Steinbrenner made it as clear as the diamonds on his six World Series rings.

Those who think his deep pockets are to blame for baseball’s current economic mess can kiss his big, fat wallet.

The Boss was obviously steamed yesterday after reading comments by Indians owner Larry Dolan, who said Steinbrenner was to blame for everything that’s wrong in baseball.

“George is a large part of our problem,” Dolan said during a luncheon on Tuesday.

The Yankees have packed a punch at the plate this year, belting a major-league high 143 home runs. But none of those blows were as emphatic as the one-page, three-paragraph response, Steinbrenner issued during the Yankees 2-1 victory over the Tigers last night.

“I am sorry that Larry Dolan, current owner of the Cleveland Indians, felt the necessity to speak out the way he did in criticism of me and the Yankees,” Steinbrenner said in the prepared statement. “While I recognize the pressure he and the Dolan Family Trusts are facing, I do not believe Mr. Dolan appreciates what it has taken to build the New York Yankees, to develop its brand and to provide a winning team for New and Yankee fans everywhere.

“In as much as Mr. Dolan is only in his third season in baseball, he may not know that when I acquired the team in the early 1970’s, we actually had to pay WMCA just to carry Yankee games on the radio and that attendance was at an all-time low, averaging less than 1,200,000 fans per year from 1972-1975.

“Since the day that Babe Ruth was acquired, the Yankees have been the envy of many in the game and subject to the jealousies that success brings. In reality, it is the Yankees’ success and commitment to providing a consistent winner that is at the center of the criticism. No one complained when the Yankees did not have success on the field.”

Steinbrenner was specifically addressing Dolan, the brother of Cablevision leader Charles Dolan, who has refused to offer the Yankees’ YES Network to cable subscribers. But the Boss also was talking to all of baseball as the sport heads for what figures to be an ugly labor showdown that will pit not only owners against players, but owners against owners. Small-market teams crying poverty will use the Yankees and their $135 million payroll as Exhibit A for why things must change.

The Tigers, with their $55 million payroll, fielded a roster of virtual no-names against the Yankees last night. Their nine-man starting lineup totaled just 50 home runs on the season, and had not one player hitting above .300. The Yankees starting lineup had totaled 144 homers, including the 15 Raul Mondesi hit with the Blue Jays before he and his $11 million contract were acquired by the Yankees on July 1.

It was the Mondesi trade and the acquisition of right-handed pitcher Jeff Weaver that has owners like Dolan miffed.

“It’s not in any of our interests to have baseball be such that each season it’s going to be the Yankees against some other team in the World Series,” Dolan grumbled on Tuesday. “That can’t continue.”

It will if Steinbrenner has his way.

His response yesterday is a clear indication that the Boss isn’t about to spread his wealth or curtail his spending habits. He has no sympathy for those who can’t match his pocketbook or drive for success. And why should he? Saying Steinbrenner is part of the problem in baseball is like saying the Mercedes is bad for the automobile industry or Tiger Woods is bad for golf.

Steinbrenner needn’t apologize for the revenue streams he has developed, the money he has spent or the success he has achieved. Until the rules change, there is no reason for him to change.

“Our revenues have not been developed and increased accidentally,” the Boss said in his statement. “They are directly attributable to hard work and continuing investment in the team. I have run the Yankees the best way I know how and will continue to do so.”